It was about a year ago that bitcoin, the largest crypto currency by market value, flirted with $20,000, but on Friday plummeted 10.31% to $3,280 as of 12:30 pm Eastern – bitcoin’s new 2018 low.
According to coinmarketcap.com data pictured below, Ripple was trading more than 10% down at 29 cents and Ethereum at $83.60.
Until the cryptocurrency that was once the toast of the town can resuscitate itself and get out of its latest correction, it calls to mind market bubbles of the past that elevated investors into a state of euphoria before unceremoniously popping and crashing down to earth.
Momentum plays an important role in when to buy bitcoin, but what may be surprising is that buying the cryptocurrency after it has experienced big rallies can be a winning strategy. Some crypto market observers believe the long-term outlook remains encouraging for the largest digital currency. However, this has been a brutal for the broader market cryptocurrency space in terms of lost market value.
Ominous Signs for Bitcoin
Carnage in the cryptocurrency universe is not confined to bitcoin. Scores of other digital assets, including some of the other digital currencies viewed as viable alongside bitcoin have been savagely repudiated in recent weeks.
“The Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index, which tracks many of the largest digital currencies, fell as much as 10 percent Thursday, hitting its lowest point since September 2017. XRP, the currency known as Ripple and one of the index’s largest components, fell as much as 5 percent, and Ether is down as much as 7 percent, with its price dropping to around $94. Ether traded as high as $960 in February,” according to Bloomberg.
Among the issues plaguing bitcoin this year are the ongoing unwillingness of U.S. regulators to approve bitcoin-related exchange traded funds as well as data indicating that mainstream acceptance and adoption of the digital currency are declining.
For more information on the cryptocurrency market, visit the Bitcoin category.